Pope Leo XIV announced that an operation to remove a nodule from his lung will take place this week. This is the first time the Pope has made such a personal medical statement.
The 71-year-old Pope is otherwise in good health and is known for his love of sports. According to the Vatican press office, the operation is scheduled for 'the coming days,' while Italian media suggests it may take place on Tuesday. However, the Pope is scheduled to preside over Mass at St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesday morning with world church leaders, and no changes to his schedule have been announced yet.
Doctors expect the Pope's recovery to take about a week. This will allow him to travel to Latin America on November 6 as planned. This 11-day trip will cover Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru—a country close to the Pope's heart, as he worked there as a missionary for two decades and received Peruvian citizenship.
A pulmonary nodule is a small cluster of tissue in the lung. Most of them are benign, meaning they are not cancerous. Nevertheless, a small percentage may indicate an early stage of lung cancer.
Most small nodules do not cause symptoms and are only discovered during examinations for other reasons. Larger nodules can cause shortness of breath, chest pain, and a persistent cough, sometimes with blood. The operation is usually performed under general anesthesia, with the patient breathing through a tube.
The operation is expected to take place at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where the Pope is usually treated. The previous Pope Francis spent several weeks there before his death last year. John Paul II, who led the Church from 1978 until his death in 2005, underwent nine operations at 'Gemelli'—Rome's largest hospital—and spent a total of 153 days there.
He joked that the hospital resembled 'Vatican number three.' Ultimately, the Vatican equipped apartments on the top floor of the hospital, accessible via a long corridor guarded by Italian and Vatican police. In addition to the Pope's room, this suite reportedly includes a conference room for medical staff, a kitchen, a bathroom, and lounge areas. A small chapel is also located there.
